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But there's way more than UTIs u can get infected with. Bed sores/ pressure ulcers come to mind. If you're getting debilitated for other reasons, we're way more likely to get a pressure ulcer to add icing to the cake (or insult to the injury?). Depending on how high you are if you lose abdominal function you're less able to cough and therefore clear respiratory infections, so there's another source.

Still, I'm rather surprised to hear that's the #1 cause. Like in the 1960s I could see it, but who dies from an infection these days? Where are your numbers coming from?

But there's way more than UTIs u can get infected with. Bed sores/ pressure ulcers come to mind. If you're getting debilitated for other reasons, we're way more likely to get a pressure ulcer to add icing to the cake (or insult to the injury?). Depending on how high you are if you lose abdominal function you're less able to cough and therefore clear respiratory infections, so there's another source.

Still, I'm rather surprised to hear that's the #1 cause. Like in the 1960s I could see it, but who dies from an infection these days? Where are your numbers coming from?

exactly what I've thought thus the reason I came to ask. surely one of the experienced nurses knows.

A total of 100 patients, with 38 and 62 surviving <10 and ≥10 years, respectively, were included. In patients surviving ≥10 years, paraplegia was associated with a higher life expectancy compared with tetraplegia, 34 and 25 years (p = 0.008), respectively, and the leading causes of death were septicemia (n = 14), ischemic heart disease (n = 10), neoplasms (n = 9), cerebrovascular diseases (n = 5), and other forms of heart diseases (n = 5). Septicemia, influenza/pneumonia, and suicide were the leading causes of death in tetraplegics, whereas ischemic heart disease, neoplasms, and septicemia were the leading causes of death in paraplegia

Sepsis tunnels straight for the nearest artery or major blood flow. Once in the bloodstream a person can die within hours.

I had sepsis in a shearing wound; within hours it was tunneling towards my femeral artery. The plastic surgeon said I wouldn't have made it overnight. The eventual flap was not the problem. The challenge was to restructure the damage done by the tunneling

Sepsis can develop from an infection anyplace in the body. This could be a UTI, a respiratory infection, infected pressure ulcer, cellulitis, epididymitis, infected gall bladder, etc. (all of which occur more often in people with SCI). Sepsis is also more likely to occur if the pathogen is a drug resistant bacteria, which many people with SCI have colonized in their bodies.

Persons enrolled in the National SCI Database since its inception in 1973 have now been followed for 40 years after injury.
During that time, the causes of death that appear to have the greatest impact on reduced life expectancy for this population are pneumonia and septicemia. Mortality rates are declining for cancer, heart disease, stroke, arterial diseases, pulmonary embolus, urinary diseases, digestive diseases, and suicide. However, these gains are being offset by increasing mortality rates for endocrine, metabolic and nutritional diseases, accidents, nervous system diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, and mental disorders. There has been no change in the mortality rate for septicemia in the past 40 years, and only a slight decrease in mortality due to respiratory diseases.

(KLD)

The SCI-Nurses are advanced practice nurses specializing in SCI/D care. They are available to answer questions, provide education, and make suggestions which you should always discuss with your physician/primary health care provider before implementing. Medical diagnosis is not provided, nor do the SCI-Nurses provide nursing or medical care through their responses on the CareCure forums.

I believe about ~250K die in the US every year because of sepsis. I could easily see a measurable number of SCIs (several hundred or more perhaps) dying from it every year across the US. It's our weak spot as KLD suggested above.

But there's way more than UTIs u can get infected with. Bed sores/ pressure ulcers come to mind. If you're getting debilitated for other reasons, we're way more likely to get a pressure ulcer to add icing to the cake (or insult to the injury?). Depending on how high you are if you lose abdominal function you're less able to cough and therefore clear respiratory infections, so there's another source.

Still, I'm rather surprised to hear that's the #1 cause. Like in the 1960s I could see it, but who dies from an infection these days? Where are your numbers coming from?

Sepsis can develop from an infection anyplace in the body. This could be a UTI, a respiratory infection, infected pressure ulcer, cellulitis, epididymitis, infected gall bladder, etc. (all of which occur more often in people with SCI). Sepsis is also more likely to occur if the pathogen is a drug resistant bacteria, which many people with SCI have colonized in their bodies.

uh oh. the colony in my bladder could be drug resistant? my urine is cloudy every other day.

i recently got very sick, high fever might have been a flu, but i typically take vitamins and drink water and fight it off naturally, ive been doing this since my AB days. I just dont like antibiotics, amoxicillin is still a heavy antibiotic to me. damn maybe I should stop playing this game. and go to the doctor when i get a high fever for more than 24.

I wouldn't put you in this category as you're very incomplete. In that, I mean more mobile and therefore more viable with your immune system.

I remember a couple of years ago, though, Todd getting very ill and ending up in ICU within 24-48hrs from a uti that snuck up on him and went septic. Pretty scary how fast it can happen.

yea i remember that, and i think hes incomplete. i actually read that thread earlier today, he had forced a catheter and blood spewed out, got infected then spread. that was a close one, crazy how fast it happens tho, and he said even after he got out of the hospital he was drained for a month, could barely open a water bottle. i think he even had a blood transfusion.

terrifying. im really not good with my bladder and bowel program. i can feel when i need to pee and i get lazy and just go natural instead of 'clearing' it with a cath, if im going out or going to sleep i do but during the day nah. sometimes i clear it all naturally and some days i dont (every night i go then cath to get the remaining and its a hit or miss sometimes only a few drops come out and sometimes i get about 200ml). this might be dangerous tho because i know for sure im colonized, its cloudy and smelly every couple of days, but what if one day it gets into my blood stream or kidney.